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Client Care Tips For Your CNAs - Meal Time
By Linda Leekley
Assisting clients at meal time is part of the job of a nursing assistant. Do the CNAs at your workplace know how crucial this daily task is to their clients? Are they aware of the different issues that can affect appetite and the ability to eat? By sharing the following information and tips at your next CNA inservice meeting, you may give your aides a new outlook on feeding their clients.
It's Time to Eat
Eat up...chow down...dig in...pig out...pack it away... However you say it, sitting down to a nice meal may seem like an ordinary event to you. It's no big deal, right? But, for many people, eating is a problem. They don't look forward to mealtime for many reasons, including:
- They have trouble swallowing.
- They're nauseous.
- They have no appetite.
- They feel too sad to eat.
- They're too tired to eat.
- They can't chew.
Whatever the reason, clients who don't eat well are at serious risk for health problems. Remember...food has an important role in your clients' health. People who eat a balanced diet have a better shot at avoiding new illnesses and/or fighting off the diseases they already have!
But, mealtime is about more than nutrition. For most people, meals are a pleasant time of day, spent with friends, co-workers or family members. Some of your clients may still find mealtime enjoyable. Others may have lost the desire or ability to enjoy the company of others during mealtime.
Whether it's because of a physical problem or an emotional one, clients who eat poorly need your time, your understanding and your attention. Keep reading to learn more about the process of eating and how to deal with common eating problems.
Who Is at Risk for Eating Problems?
Many of your clients may be at risk for eating problems. Here are a dozen of the physical and emotional factors that affect the eating process:
1. Clients who have had a stroke may have weakness in their limbs and may not be able to feel one or both sides of their mouths. They may have problems with swallowing, chewing, preparing meals and/or feeding themselves.
2. Elderly clients whose sense of smell isn't as strong as it used to be may not be interested in eating-because if they can't smell their food, they probably can't taste it either.
3. People who are on a tight budget may feel they can't afford healthy foods. They may not eat a balanced diet.
4. Some medications have side effects that change the sense of taste and decrease the appetite. The more medications your clients take, the more likely they are to change their eating habits.
5. Clients who are depressed and/or lonely may have less appetite than usual. They may forget to eat or lose interest in meals.
6. People with missing teeth, no teeth or poorly fitting dentures will find it difficult to eat certain foods.
7. Clients with poor eyesight may have problems preparing meals and/or feeding themselves.
8. Some clients may be too sick to feed themselves. This puts them at risk for malnutrition.
9. If you have clients who are ordered to stay in bed, you might find that they aren't used to eating while in bed. Some people don't like it and may not eat a balanced diet.
10. Some of your clients may have physical disabilities that affect their ability to eat. For example, Mr. Smith has Parkinson's Disease and his hands shake so much that he can't bring a spoon up to his mouth.
11. Clients who are ordered by their physicians to eat a certain diet may not like the prescribed diet. This can cause problems at mealtime.
12. Many clients who have dementia are too confused to feed themselves. They may be very hungry, but they have trouble remembering how to get the food into their mouths.
Tips for Solving Eating Issues
Let your supervisor know if your client has problems smelling or tasting food. There are certain spices and herbs that can be safely added to most people's food to make it easier to taste.
Remember that poor appetite may be caused by constipation. Take note of your client's bowel habits and report any signs of constipation to your supervisor.
If a client is confused, give him only a few choices...such as only one plate and only one piece of silverware. The simpler you make the meal, the easier it will be for the client and for you!
If a client has trouble chewing his food because of poor muscle control, try putting very light pressure on his lips or under his chin to help him remember to chew.
For a client experiencing nausea, offer foods at room temperature. Hot foods-especially those with a strong smell-tend to increase nausea.
Does your client have dysphagia (swallowing difficulties)? If so, remember that cold foods may be easier to swallow than hot ones. Soft textured foods like applesauce, yogurt, cottage cheese or pudding are best.
If your client has heartburn, encourage her not to lie down after a meal-or eat before bed. At night, she may want to sleep with her head and torso propped up by several pillows.
Remember...
When it comes to mealtime, your job is a little tricky...because you have to juggle two very important issues.
1. Your clients need to get enough to eat. Their physical health depends on this! Without your help, they may not get the nutrition they need.
2. Your clients need to be as independent as possible during mealtime. Their emotional health depends on this. If you assist them too much, they may feel helpless and lose the desire to care for themselves.
Your goal is to balance these two needs for each of your clients.
Linda H. Leekley BS, RN
President, In the Know, Inc.
Do you struggle to provide your nursing assistants with high quality continuing education? With more than 120 inservice topics, In the Know has the solution to nearly any problem facing your nurse aides. (For a more thorough discussion of helping clients at meal time, please check out our Feeding Your Clients and/or Meal Time Tips inservice topics.)
Using our inservices ensures that your CNAs will learn more-and achieve more. As a result, their client care will improve dramatically! And, we stand by the superior quality of our teaching materials with a 60-day money back guarantee.
Please visit my website at http://www.knowingmore.com to download a FREE Inservice Topic.
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